The Milwaukee Brewers are once again NL Central champions. On Wednesday, the Brewers clinched their second straight division title and third in the last four years when the Cubs lost to the A's. The Brewers are the first team to clinch a postseason berth this season.
The division titles comes after an offseason that was defined by loss. Longtime head baseball operations executive David Stearns left to join the Mets, longtime manager Craig Counsell left to join the NL Central rival Cubs, and ace Corbin Burnes was traded to the Orioles. Despite that, Milwaukee is on pace to have their best record since 2021, and their fourth-best record since 2012.
Of course, winning the NL Central has been fait accompli for weeks. The Brewers moved into sole possession of first place on May 9 and have had at least a five-game lead since July 20, and at least an eight-game lead since Aug. 14. According to FanGraphs, Milwaukee's division title odds have been 75% or better since late July. This wasn't much of a division race.
In a bit of a reversal from previous years, the Brewers have been led this season by a powerhouse offense, one that ranks fourth in baseball in runs scored per game. The emergence of Jackson Chourio and Joey Ortiz, and continued excellence from Willy Adames and William Contreras, has helped the Brewers overcome the loss of Christian Yelich to season-ending back surgery.
Milwaukee is also allowing the fourth-fewest runs per game despite using 17 different starting pitchers, the most in baseball, and not getting All-Star closer Devin Williams back from the injured list until late July. The Brewers also lost rookie Robert Gasser and veteran Wade Miley to elbow surgeries earlier this season. It's taken a village on the mound, and they've performed well.
With the NL Central title secured, the Brewers will now try to finish with one of the two best records in the National League and clinch a Wild Card Series bye. Entering play Wednesday, the Brewers were two games behind the Phillies for the NL's best record and four games behind the Dodgers for the NL's No. 2 seed.
